NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE FOR CAMBRIDGE UNITED

6 October 2014

Cambridge United appoint new Chief Executive Officer

AT the start of last season, after eight years in the Football Conference, Chairman Dave Doggett had begun the process of bringing together all aspects of the club with the collective aim of eventually challenging for promotion. The maximum possible level of resource was allocated to the foot-ball department while the administrative and commercial side of the club operated at a bare minimum. It demanded a voluntary working week from the Chairman alongside a number of unpaid volunteers, a labour which provided the club with an opportunity for the success on the pitch. It required long hours and huge commitment from the Chairman, the office staff and numerous volunteers.

Then, despite a very limited budget in comparison to other clubs in the Football Conference, Cambridge United significantly over-achieved on the field. The team gained promotion to the Football League and won the FA Trophy, a remarkable testimony to the quality of the coaching staff led by Head Coach Richard Money; a staff assembled over time by Director of Football Jez George.

We now face a new world due to the demands of League football but still having very limited financial and capital resources. Despite these restrictions, the Chairman and the Board of Directors are determined to continue the progress that the club has achieved in the last eighteen months. To facilitate this the Board, through Chairman Dave Doggett, has asked Director of Football Jez George to take on the role of Chief Executive Officer, extending his leadership and management role beyond the football operation and to encapsulate the whole club. Dave Doggett as Chairman of Cambridge United will work closely with Jez George in this new era to address the significant challenges ahead.

To consolidate and then to grow Cambridge United as an established Football League club for the next generation we must immediately address a number of critical needs. We need greater financial resources. We need to create sustainable revenue streams since our ability to invest in the team with direct player costs is now intrinsically linked to our turnover through the Football League Salary Cap Protocol. Therefore, increasing non-match day income through commercial revenue and growing the fan base are all significant priorities. We need facilities for our growing and popular Academy, Youth Development Programme and Community Trust. All these needs could be addressed by a new or significantly redeveloped stadium. It remains the club's highest priority to work with Local Government authorities to achieve this goal, which would guarantee the presence of a professional football club in one of the worlds greatest cities for generations to come.

We face some great challenges but we confront them with resolve and confidence under the leadership of an exemplary Chairman, an ambitious and determined Chief Executive Officer and a first rate Head Coach.